Plateau State Governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, has installed His Royal Highness Miskagam Jerome Goewam Leklat II as the new Long Pan of Pan Chiefdom, restoring the traditional stool to First-Class status.
He performed the installation and presented the monarch with the Staff of Office on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the Ba’ap Mini Stadium in Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area.
The Governor described the occasion as more than the installation of a traditional ruler, saying it marked the restoration of a cherished institution and a symbol of unity for the people of Pan Chiefdom.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening traditional institutions across Plateau State, describing them as critical partners in governance, peacebuilding, cultural preservation and community development.
Mutfwang urged the new monarch to lead with wisdom, humility, fairness and courage, and to unite all sons and daughters of Pan.
“Let your reign be defined by the ability to unite rather than divide, to heal rather than reopen old wounds, and to build bridges where differences exist,” he said.
Governor Mutfwang also urged traditional rulers to strengthen community relations, provide credible intelligence to security agencies and treat security as a collective responsibility.
He cautioned against drug abuse and indiscriminate leasing of ancestral and community lands for mining, saying the government was working on measures to ensure that the Federal Government, state, host communities and legitimate landowners benefit appropriately from mineral resources while protecting the environment.
Mutfwang also renewed his commitment to developing the Southern Zone, promising to complete the 61-kilometre Dokan Tofa-Baap-Kurgwi and Jibam-Dokan Kasuwa roads and improve electricity supply to the area.
Earlier, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ephraim Gar, said the administration had demonstrated strong commitment to repositioning the traditional institution as the custodian of the people’s culture, norms and traditions.
The Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman of the Plateau State Traditional Council of Chiefs, His Majesty Da. Jacob Gyang Buba, represented by His Royal Highness Da. John Putmang Hirse, congratulated the new Long Pan and urged him to use his experience and character to promote unity among the diverse people of the chiefdom.
Receiving the Staff of Office through Miskagam Doemak Cosmos Dakyap, the new Long Pan expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the people of Pan and pledged his support for the Mutfwang administration.
He, however, appealed to the government to establish an operational security command along the Qua’an-Pan-Mangu-Nasarawa corridor, citing the vulnerability of the area to banditry and terrorism.
The Executive Chairman of Qua’an-Pan Local Government Council, Christopher Audu Manship, congratulated the monarch and commended Governor Mutfwang for creating an enabling environment for the selection and installation of the new Long Pan.
He also appealed to the governor to expedite the completion of the Jibam-Qua’an-Pan road.
The governor later commissioned the remodelled Long Pan’s Palace at Doemak and the newly constructed Snakebite Treatment Centre in Doemak.
